Tremie pipe and method



1951 w. B. CURTIS 7 2,562,416

TREMIE PIPE AND METHOD Filed Feb. 21, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 IE'| E FIEE I.E

I IN V ENTOR.

Mil/lace 5. Cuff/'5 Patented July 31, 1951 UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE I 7 2,562,416 V TREMIE PIPE METHOD Wallace B. Curtis, Mill valley, Calif., assignor to Ben C. Gerwick, Inc., San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of California 7 Application February 21, 1947, Serial No. 730,148

. eciaims. 1

This invention relates generally to the construction of tremie pipes, and to methods of pouring of .concrete by the use of the same.

As used in the past a. tremie pipe for the pouring of a wet concrete mix consists of a straight metal pipe or conduit open at both its upper and lower ends, and communicating at its upper end with a hopper into which the wet mix is introduced. At the beginning of the. pour the lower end of the pipe is positioned near the bottom of the space to befilled, and as the level of the poured concrete rises about the lower end of the pipe, the pipe is gradually elevated while introduction of concrete continues without interruption. This method necessitates a continual change in the elevation of the pouring zone from which the wet mix is introduced into the upper end of the tremie pipe. In many instances the depth of the space to be poured is such that the tremie pipe must be. of a length of say seventy feet or more, and therefore relatively elaborate apparatus must be provided for elevating the wet mix to a relatively great height for introduction into the upper end of'the tremie pipe, near the endcof the completion ofthe pouring operation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a tremie pipe whereby the pouring zone, that is the zone from which the wet mix is introduced into the tremie pipe, may remain at a substantially constant height.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved tremie pipe which will greatly facilitate pouring operations, and which enable a substantially continuous pour without the necessity of conveying the mix to relatively great heights.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new method for the pouring of concrete by the use of my improved tremie pipe.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following description in which the preferred embodiment has been set forth in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Referring to the drawing- Figures 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d are side elevational views showing a tremie pipe incorporating the present improvement, and illustrating a carryingout of the present method in the progressive pouring of concrete.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view on an enlarged scale and partly in cross section, illustrating the tremie pipe of Figures 1a. to 1d inclusive.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view looking toward the right hand side of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 2. 1

The apparatus illustrated in the drawing consists of a vertically extending metal pipeor conduit H] which has sufiicient wall thickness to be of proper strength. The upper end of the pipe communicates with a hopper II which is adapted to receive a wet concrete mix.

The lower end of the pipe is open for discharge of the concrete mix into the space to be filled.

At regularly spaced intervals along the length of pipe I 0 it is provided with side openings 12 which are surrounded by the conduit extensions l3. Each extension is provided with a flange l4 enabling bolting of the same to a companion flange, or to a closure plate l6.

In addition to the upper hopper II, ther is a hopper I! which has a lower lateral extension Ila and a flange l8 adapted to be bolted to the flange M. The upper edge of hopper 11 can be provided with bails or handles I9 to' f-acilitate handling of the same. It will be evident that hopper I! can be bolted to any one of the flanges 14, whereby it can be connected to the pipe at any desired position along the length of the same.

In a typical instance the pipe ll] may be twelve inches inside diameter, and sixty feet or more in length. The first opening l2 can be about six feet below the hopper l I and additional openings I2 at about six foot intervals. The number of side openings will depend upon the height of the tremie pipe, and upon the height to which the pipe must be raised during a pouring operation.

Use of the tremie pipe described above, and the carrying-out of the present method, can best be explained by reference to Figures 1a to 112 inclusive. Line 20 represents the bottom of the space being filled with concrete. For example this space may be defined by an underwater structure, such as is used in the formation of concrete piers, or a subterranean foundation form. A pouring zone is established at an elevation considerably higher than the top level to which the concrete form is to be poured. In the drawing the pouring zone is represented by the launder or conveyer 2|, which is used in conjunction with other equipment capable of supplying the desired mix. The upper end of the tremie pipe is suspended by chains or cables, by the use of suitable hoist equipment, whereby during the pour it can be recurrently raised as the level of the poured mass of concrete increases in height. At the beginning of the pour the tremie pipe has its lower end spaced a short. distance from the bottom 20 as shown in Figure 1a, and the launder II is arranged to discharge directly into the top hopper II. The wet concret mix is introduced into hopper I l at a suificient rate to maintain the pipe l substantially filled with a downwardly moving column of mix. As the level of the poured concrete (indicated by dotted line 22) raises above the lower end of the pipe Ill, it is necessary to continually elevate the pipe in order to maintain its lower end immersed at a substantially constant depth. When the pipe has been elevated by an amount corresponding generally to the interval between the side openings I2, discharge from the launder 2| is temporarily interrupted. and when the level of the downwardly moving column of material has passed the first openi l2, the closure plate iii of this opening is removed, hopper l'l applied, and connecting flanges H and I8 bolted together. This operation takes only a short interval of time, during which the column of concrete continues to move downward 1y through the pipe [0, thus maintaining continuthe wet mix into the hopper I1 instead of the top hopper II. Here again the rate of introduction is such that the pipe 10 is maintained substantially filled with a downwardly moving column of concrete, but the column now extends only to the level of the hopper I'I. Elevation of the tremie pipe is then continued as the pouring proceeds, and when the first opening l2 has been elevated for a distance corresponding generally to the interval between the openings, closure plate l6 of the next lower opening is removed in the manner previously described, and the hopper l1 shifted to the lower location. Here again care is taken to make the shift in such a manner that downward movement of the column of concrete in the pipe I0 continues without interruption.

If during a pouring operation it is desirable to retard the downward flow of concrete, pipe I0 can be lowered to immerse its lower end to a greater depth in the wet poured mix.

Figures 1a to 1d inclusive represent successive positions of hopper l'l during a complete pourcharacterized by the use of a tremie pipe having ing operation. It will be evident that after the 4 hopper I! has been shifted a number of times" the hopper H and the top of the tremie pipe is at considerable elevation above the pouring zone. However the pouring zone itself remains at a substantially constant level, thus greatly facilitating the apparatus required for elevating the wet mix from the batch mixing equipment.

It will be evident that the tremie pipedescribed above is a marked improvement over tremie pipes such as have been used in the past. Pouring operations are greatly facilitated, both with respect to the equipment required, and the labor involved for operation of the equipment.

I claim:

1. In a method for the pouring of concrete means located at spaced points along the length of the same for introduction of concrete, the steps of flowing the concrete through the pipe by introducing the same into the pipe at points progressively remote from the upper end of the pipe while simultaneously elevating the pipe as the depth of the poured concrete increases, whereby the height of the pouring zone remains substantially constant.

2. In a method for the pouring of a wet concrete mix characterized by the use of a vertical tremie pipe having means located at vertically spaced points along the length of the same for introduction of concrete, continually flowing the wet concrete mix through the tremie pipe by introducing the same into the pipe at points progressively remote from the upper end of the pipe while simultaneously continually elevating the pipe as the depth of the poured concrete increases, the height of the pouring zone remaining substantially constant.

WALLACE B. CURTIS.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Welsh Nov. 16, 1909 Number 

